Engine control units (ECUs) and associated engine monitoring functions, or alternatively engine monitoring units (EMUs), typically collect and send data to an aircraft's main control system to allow decision making by maintainers, or decision making by other systems communicatively coupled to the engine. An EMU may also refer to an actual unit or to the engine monitoring function within an ECU.
In either the case of an ECU or an EMU, there is a trove of data that are internal to the engine; these data are not transmitted to other systems. These data are generated as a result of the engine's operation, and they can contain important information that can give insights into the engine's health and usage. Thus, these data may provide useful life cycle management insights, which can help prevent failures and extend time on wing.
As a non-limiting example, these data can include internal engine sensor measurements or subsystems calculated states, e.g. the internal temperature of a combustor. Furthermore, the values of these data may be parametrized, i.e. they may depend on specific states of one or more engine subsystems. Typical EMUs are currently not configured for intelligent and continuous engine monitoring. While they can log engine internal data, they do not do so in such a way that maintenance crews can easily gain proper insights in engine past operation and health. As such, with typical EMUs, engineers must make decisions about what to store and what to not store given size and communication limitations.